By Konstantinos Kolokotronis.
Following the visit of the emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, to the White House, US President Joe Biden announced on Monday, 1 February, that he intends to designate Qatar as a major non-NATO ally “to reflect the importance of our relationship”, as he indicated, noting that the designation had been long overdue. Qatar, therefore, is expected to join the long list of major non-NATO US allies worldwide that include among others Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Egypt, Israel, and Pakistan. Under US law the designation allows for the provision of “certain benefits in the areas of defence trade and security cooperation”, although notably, it falls short of an official US security commitment.
What’s the underlying rationale for this decision?
- Qatar is a major gas and oil producer that enjoyed OPEC membership from 1961 to 2019 when deteriorations in relations with neighbouring Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and their joint trade embargo against the Persian Gulf state from 2017 to early 2021, marked the state’s exit from the organization. Qatari officials claimed, however, that the country’s decision was in coordination with its latest strategic reorientation and prioritization of natural gas over oil.
- Biden’s decision to further enhance US relations with Qatar suggests a much broader US strategy promote the diversification of European energy supplies while decreasing the problematic dependency on Russian natural gas imports which have often been weaponized by the Kremlin in the wake of the sharp deterioration of Russian-European relations in the aftermath of the invasion of Crimea and throughout the Ukrainian crisis to this date.
- Many experts, however, have argued that Qatar’s increasing commitment to the Asian energy market would allow little room for compromise when it comes to a potential increase in Qatari energy exports to Europe. The costs of reducing the exports to Asia far outweigh the political benefits that will undoubtedly follow if Qatar is to ramp up its gas exports to Europe.
- Decisions about whether to send gas to Europe or Asia are based on “market forces”, Qatar’s energy minister, Al-Kaabi declared.
Sources:
https://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/about_us/25.htm
https://www.reuters.com/world/qatars-emir-visit-washington-jan-31-2022-01-25/
https://www.state.gov/major-non-nato-ally-status/
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